When Doug Pederson was hired to be the Jacksonville Jaguars’ coach, it wasn’t just the hires on the offensive side that fans were curious about. The reason for that was because the roster took a step in the right direction defensively after Joe Cullen took over, and while the group was far from elite, there clearly was something to build on.
Unfortunately Cullen wasn’t retained by Pederson, but the second time coach brought in an assistant with similar beliefs in Mike Caldwell. In 2020 the Jags were fifth in terms of blitz percentage (31.5%), making them one of the more aggressive teams in the league. However, they ended up with an assistant in Caldwell who will be coming from an even more blitz-heavy team in the Tampa Bay Bucs, who were first in the category (40.8%).
Leading the Bucs defensively was longtime assistant Todd Bowles, who has known Caldwell since their time as Philadelphia Eagles assistants under Andy Reid. And with that being the case, Caldwell had no choice but to be influenced by Bowles as the two remained together during stops in Arizona, New York, and Tampa.
